PROFESSOR KAMPHUIS ON THE ADCC QUALIFIERS

Striking arts have long been the predominant martial arts throughout Asia, such as Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Kalis/Silat, and Sanda. The relatively recent popularity of MMA in the west spread interest in the grappling art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This interest made its way back to Asia and has begun to flourish here as well, along with the popularity of MMA. One of the countries to be the largest proponent of this growth is the Philippines. Professor Stephen Kamphuis has been in the Philippines since 2004, and has been instrumental in making the country a hot spot for BJJ competition.

Professor Kamphuis was the first person to put up a recognized Federation under the IBJJF in the ASEAN region, and now he is instrumental as president in hosting the first ADCC Asia-Pacific World Qualifying Trials in Manila on November 3rd and 4th, 2012. The The Mall of Asia will be the venue, and the statement of “15-20,000 spectators” got Kid Peligro interested in the event. He interviewed Professor Kamphuis recently on ADCombat.com here. It can be expected that all the BJJ hot shots and MMA stars throughout Southeast Asia and Australia will make it to this event. It will be a grappler’s paradise, and the winners of each division get a paid trip to compete at the Worlds in 2013.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

KP – Who are the top grapplers that we can expect (or would like) to see in the event

SK – We have some Mundial medalists here such as Ralph Go, and some good Black belts in the region but I would expect a few unknown players who have not had the opportunity to compete in past events held in Australia to surprise everyone.
The Philippines is really well located regionally and a cheap place to visit so I am sure we will also have the top competitors from Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Guam, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines etc join in.

KP – How can the people contact you for the event or to be a part of ADCC Asia?

SK – Our goal is to propagate the sport of BJJ /Submission Grappling here in South East Asia especially the Philippines and provide a venue for the competitors to hone their skills so they can be competitive at the major comps.
The competitions showcase the sport and lift the standard of the players.
We are very fortunate as the coaches get along well in the region and are very supportive of our endeavors and of each other. We still have a long way to go but we can only do this by co-operation, respect and understanding.
It is also personally important to me that the local players in the Philippines have the opportunity to test themselves against overseas competitors without having to leave the country. Few are able to secure the required visa’s to the places like the US, Australia and Japan or possibly have the financial resources. This is also a problem for many other South East Asian residents they are unable to compete at the top-level competitions so we have to bring or create these events here. Many people are surprised by the standard of the competitors in the Philippines , having regular International events has played an important factor in this.

On a different topic we are also looking for 2nd hand gi’s to distribute to the poor provinces for free, we are happy to link up with anyone who can help.

In summary I encourage everyone to join the Asia – Pacific World Qualifying Competition in the Philippines sample the culture and the innate hospitality of the people, I am sure everyone will have a great time.